When Genghis Khan Got Me Invited to the House of Lords

It started with an invite to do a session based on my novel on Genghis Khan, at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF)’s London chapter at the British Library. What followed was an invite to the House of Lords sent to me by the wonderfully accomplished Professor Rahima Abduvalieva, who happened to attend my ‘Meet the Mongols’ session at the JLF. At the House of Lords, it was truly humbling to meet the celebrated Kazakh writer, Dulat Isabekov, at a dinner hosted by Lord Wrigglesworth. The world needs more people who build bridges through their exceptional ability to tell stories that transcend boundaries. I sat at a table of actors and diplomats and educators and philanthropists and linguists from across the world, and although most of us didn’t speak each other’s languages well, we had lively conversations and a lovely evening. And the world felt closer-knit